FROM THE EDITOR: Dartmouth voters, meet the enemy

Sunday

Mar 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

Back on the first Earth Day in 1970, a poster warned citizens of planet Earth that "we have met the enemy and he is us." Walt Kelly, who drew the classic comic strip "Pogo," borrowed it a few months later and put it in the mouth of one of the strip's characters, Porky Pine.

Back on the first Earth Day in 1970, a poster warned citizens of planet Earth that "we have met the enemy and he is us." Walt Kelly, who drew the classic comic strip "Pogo," borrowed it a few months later and put it in the mouth of one of the strip's characters, Porky Pine.

It could have been written about the good people of Dartmouth, who have been unable to reconcile themselves that their ship of state is foundering on a sea of red ink. An attempt to raise property taxes by more than

$8 million last year failed narrowly in a townwide vote, and the finger-pointing and accusations haven't stopped since.

There are those who would sooner have a colonoscopy without anesthesia than pay a nickel more in taxes. Their position, if anything, has hardened this year as the cost of heating homes has risen sharply, health insurance has continued to soar, their property values have fallen, their paychecks haven't kept pace, and their level of insecurity has risen as they worry about their economic futures. In short, voting against any tax increase is their only way of saying "enough" to the state government, the federal government, their doctors, pharmacies, fuel oil dealers, grocery stores and everyone else who is putting the squeeze on them.

Then there are the parents of school-age children — perhaps one in four homes — who are incensed that their elementary school children are crammed into the Quinn School after the School Department was forced to cut spending and closed two other schools. The town began charging parents for the sports, music and other activities their high school children take part in, and everyone got to start paying for trash pickup. Those parents have been strongly in favor of raising property taxes because their kids are the ones getting hurt by the town's financial problems.

Then there are the folks more or less in the middle, who want to see the town take serious steps to control spending, even though the state Department of Revenue found Dartmouth well-run financially and not taxed especially hard. These are the folks who think that cutting a few administrators is all it will take to get things back on track, and they might support a modest tax increase if they felt Dartmouth were, in fact, tightening its belt.

And so the town on Tuesday will try to pull off a magic trick. Instead of asking a single question that would authorize raising a bunch in a tax increase, it will ask seven questions that would variously raise money to pay for more police officers, maintenance and upkeep of town buildings and property, the libraries, the schools and general government costs.

It might work, but we suspect that the founding fathers had a better idea with that

Alas, the founders only had smaller compromises to make on such matters as the role of the federal government, the rights of the individual and slavery. They didn't have to find common ground between those who wouldn't pay a dime to see the archangel Gabriel blow his trumpet in front of the Dartmouth Mall to open the gates of heaven and those who believe that more money is the answer to almost every problem.

For a while some Dartmouthians were warning that the town might have to go into receivership — i.e., let the state name someone to run the place because the situation is utterly hopeless.

But the state Revenue Department said that wouldn't happen and Dartmouth had the means to find its own way out of the woods.

Yipes, but wouldn't that mean ...?

Yes, it would mean precisely that: Townspeople are going to have to agree on some things, which eventually come down to this choice: Pay more in taxes or live in a vastly different community with lousy services, less-than-mediocre schools, dark streets and falling home values.

Look in the mirror, Dartmouth, and meet the enemy. He (or she) is standing right in front of you.

Good luck on Tuesday. You'll need it.

Bob Unger is editor of The Standard-Times. He can be reached by e-mail at runger@s-t.com or by phone at

(508) 979-4430.

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